Fire rescue device



Jan. 11, 1944. v. P. BAILEY 38,

FIRE RESCUE DEVICE Filed Sept. 23. 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l A INVENTOR.

lV/AN RNA/06K lime-v.

59.! BY /4 f Jan; 11, 1944.

v. P. BAILEY 2,338,833

FIRE RESCUE DEVICE INVENTOR.

Mm Y HIV/V065 6A/1.E% B W Patented Jan. 11, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE FIRE RESCUE DEVICE Vivian Rinnock Bailey, Philadelphia, Pa.

Applicationseptember 23, 1942, Serial No..459,458' 4 Claims (01. 227-33)This invention relates to fire rescue devices such as are intended to beemployed in the rescuing of people and the salvaging of property fromburning buildings and is concerned primarily with the provision of adevice which is adapted for use with the now known and widely used fireladders.

Under present-day conditions one or more fire companies ordinarily hurryto the scene of a fire and bring with them the usual apparatus whichincludes the fire ladders up which the fireman ascends to the upperstories of a building and also any rescue equipment which may beavailable. So far as is now known, this equipment includes a blanketinto which a person may jump or lineswhichare used to lower him.Obviously, if aperson is overcome by smoke, or partially so, he is in nocondition to jump into the blanket, and the lowering of such a person bya line isequally hazardous and carried out only with extreme diflicultyand delay. Likewise, property is damaged if it is thrown out, and thedelay entailed inlowering property makes it possible to alvage'only avery small part of it, if any at all.

With these conditions in mind, this invention has in View, as itforemost objective, the provision of a fire rescue device which ispeculiarly adapted for cooperation with the now known conventional fireladderswith veryli'ttle change in the construction of these ladderstoadapt them for cooperation with the device. 7

More in detail, the invention has, as an object, the provision of arescuedevice of the character' aforesaid which comprises a carriage thatis adapted to run up and down a fire ladder, together with mechanism forcausing such movements. In attaining this objective, a supporting frameis provided with rollers which are arranged for travel on the sidepieces of a ladder. A collapsible carriage extends laterally from thisframe, preferably towards the building against which. the ladder isplaced, and means is provided. for opening this carriage to the extentrequired by the particular conditions under which it is used.

Important features, objects and advantages of the invention areassociated with the manner in which this carriage is constructed andassembled on the frame.

Another highly important object of the invention is the provision, in arescue device of the type aforesaid, of mechanism for raising andlowering the carriage. In accordance with this invention, one rung ofthe ladder adjacent to the topis suitably braced and provided with asheave over which a line is: adapted to pass. One end of this line isanchored to the frame carrying the carriage while the other end issecured to a take up drum. Thistake-up drum replaces one of the lowerrungs of the ladder.

Another objective is the provision, in a rescue device of the characterabove noted, of a spring actuated take-up drum which normally iseffective to maintain the carriage in its uppermost or raised position.The carriage is lowered against the force of this spring, and thisresistance may be supplementedbybraking mechanism that is associatedwith the drum. Manually operable means is also provided for causingrotation of the drum when occasion demands.

Various other morede'tailed objects and advantages of the invention willin part become apparent, and in part be hereinafter stated as thedescription of the invention proceeds.

The invention; therefore, comprises a fire rescue device which isadapted for use with a conventional fire ladder with only slight changesin the construction of the ladder necessary. The device consists of'aroller frame adapted for travel on the ladder. A collapsible carriageextends laterally-from the frame and mechis provided for controlling theextent of collapse of the carriage. An upper rung of the ladder isbraced and provided with a sheave over which a line passes; One end ofthis line is anchored to the frame while the other end is secured toaspring actuated brake controlled take-up drum;

For a full and more complete understanding of the invention, referencemay be had to the following description and accompanying drawingswherein:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a fire ladder with the rescuedevice of this invention assembled therewith,

Figure 2 is an enlarged detailed perspective of the? carriage and itssupporting frame,

Figure 3 is another detailed perspective of the upper end of the ladderbringing out the manner in which it is braced and the sheave assembledthereon,

Figure is still another detailed perspective of the lower end of theladder bringing out the manner in which the take-up drum is incorporatedinto the. structure,

Figure 5 is an enlarged side view, partly in section and partly inelevation of the drum, and

Figure 6 is a detailed showing,- partly in section and partly inelevation, of the take-up drum and associated instrumentalities.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters denotecorresponding parts, and first more particularly to Figure 1, aconventional fire ladder is designated generally L. This laddercomprises the usual side pieces III and H and the rungs l2. It will berecognized that the ladder L is intended to be placed at an angleagainst a burning building, and to positively insure against slipping ofthe foot of the ladder each of the side pieces H) and II may be providedwith a removable boot |3 carrying a spike I4 that is adapted to becomeembedded in the surface on which the ladder L rests.

As is clearly brought out in Figure 3, one of the rungs I2 proximate theupper end is afforded additional support by the braces shown at 5. Apulley or sheave I6 is mounted for free rotation on this rung. A line I!passes over the sheave l6 and is retained thereon by the retainer I8.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 2, a travelling frame is shownas comprising substantially rectangularly shaped sides l9 and 2!) whichassume positions on the outside of the ladder side pieces Ill and A pairof shafts 2| and 22 receive the ladder L between them and are connectedat their respective ends to the upper portions of the sides I 9 and 2|].Another pair of shafts 23 and 24 similarly receive the ladder L betweenthem and these shafts 23 and 24 also have their respective ends securedto the sides l9 and at the lower ends thereof. One end of the line H isanchored to the upper end of this frame by the V construction shown at25, the ends of this connection being fastened to the shaft 2|. Rollers26 are rotatably carried on the shafts 2|, 22, 23 and 24 and theserollers travel on the ladder side pieces m and H in an obvious manner.

A collapsible carriage extends laterally from one side of this frame andis referred to in its entirety by the reference character C. Thiscarriage C comprises top bars 2! and 28 that have their inner endspivotally mounted on the shaft 2|; bottom bars 29 and 30 that have theirinner ends pivotally mounted on the shaft 23; and vertical bars 3| and32 that have their ends pivotally secured to the outer ends of bars 21,28, 29 and 30 by shafts 33 and 34. A floor or bottom for the carriage Cis represented at 35 and may take any suitable form. As illustrated, aheavy wire screen may be employed for this purpose.

As above pointed out, the carriage C will project from the ladder towardthe building. Thus the inner side of the carriage C, as defined by bars3| and 32 and shafts 33 and 34, may be provided with a suitableprotective covering such as a screen 36 which may be covered withasbestos. Thus the occupant of the carriage C, or any property therein,is protected from the heat of the burning building. 1

Chains 31 and 38 are shown as extending diagonally across the carriageC, joining the shafts 2| and 34. It is evident that the length of thesechains 31 and 38 determine the extent of collapse of the carriage C. Theshaft 2| is provided with a crank handle 39 and suitable ratchetmechanism (not illustrated) and by rotating this crank handle 39 thechains 31 and 38 may be taken up or unrolled from the shaft 2|.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 4, 5 and 6, the take-up drumand associated mechanism will be described: a cross rod 49 replaces oneof the rungs i2 proximate to the lower end of the ladder L. This rod 40has its ends nonrotatably secured in the ladder side pieces In and H, asshown in Figure 6. A take-up drum 4| is journalled for free rtoation onthis rod 40. One end of the line H is secured to this drum 4| and theline I"! is adapted to be Wound thereon or unwound therefrom as the casema be.

The drum 4| is hollow and housed therein is a coiled spring 42. One endof this spring is anchored in the rod 4|! while theother end is securedto the drum 4|. This spring 42 exerts a tendency to rotate the drum 4|and wind the line I! thereon.

At one end the drum 4| carries a gear 43 which may be integraltherewith, as illustrated. Meshing with the gear 43 is a pinion 44 thatis drivably carried at one end of a stub shaft 45. The stub shaft 45 isjournalled in the ladder side piece H and a non-circular stub 46projects from the side piece I A crank handle 41 is adapted to bedetachably and operably fitted over this stub 46 to manually rotate thedrum 4| when occasion demands.

A brake drum 43 is formed, preferably integrally, on the other end ofthe drum 4|. A pair of brake shoes 49 and 5|! encircle the brake drum4.8, as shown in Figure 5, and one end of each of these shoes isrotatably anchored to the ladder side piece It. Brake lining representedat 5| is interposed between the brake drum and shoes and a tensionspring 52 normally urges the shoes into engagement with the drum tosupply braking eifects and hold the take-up drum 4| against rotation.

Each of the shoes 49 and terminates in a cam portion 53 and a cam 54 isinterposed between these cam portions. The cam 54 is drivably carried ona shaft 55 that is journalled in the ladder side piece H). A handle 56may be availed of to turn the shaft 55 to operate the cam 56 and spreadthe brake shoes to release the drum for rotation when desired.

The present invention recognizes that in many instances fire ladders areassembled in sections to reach desired heights. The rescue device herebyprovided can be made to operate on any section of such a ladder. In somecases two or more sections may each be provided with such a device inwhich event provision will be made for transferring the contents of thecarriage C on one ladder section to the carriage on the next lowersection.

While the operation of the above described device is believed to beobvious, it may be briefly outlined by noting that the braking mechanismordinarily holds the drum 4| against rotation. If there be no load inthe carriage C when the handle 58 is operated to release the brake, thespring 42 will rotate the drum 4| and move the carriage C into itsuppermost or raised position. The brake may again be applied while thecarriage is being loaded. Upon again releasing the brake, the carriageC, due to the gravity action of the contents thereof, will be loweredagainst the force of the spring 42. The resistance of the spring may besupplemented by partially applying the brake to a required degree.

When occasion demands, the crank handle 4'! may be applied to the stub45 and the lowering operation manually controlled. Under some conditionsit may be desirable to hoist a load in the carriageC and this can bedone through the medium of the crank handle 41. Any desired ratio ofmechanical advantage may be obtained by properly designing the gear 43and the pinion 44.

While a preferred specific embodiment of the invention is hereinbeforeset forth, it is to be clearly understood that the invention is not tobe limited to the exact construction illustrated and described becausevarious modifications of these details may be made in putting theinvention into practise, within the purview of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a fire rescue device of the character described, a frame includingrollers adapted to travel on the side pieces of a ladder, a collapsiblecarriage outstanding from and carried by said frame, and means forcontrolling the extent of collapse of said carriage.

2. A fire rescue device of the character described comprising a ladderincluding side pieces and rungs, one of said rungs adjacent one end ofsaid ladder being braced, a sheave on said braced rung, a line passingover said sheave, a frame enclosing said ladder and including rollersadapted to travel on said side pieces, one end of said line beingconnected to said frame, a collapsible carriage carried by andoutstanding from said frame, means for controlling the extent to whichsaid carriage may be opened, a take-up drum included in said ladderproximate the end remote from said sheave, said line having its otherend secured to said drum, and means for controlling rotation of saiddrum to govern movement of said carriage.

3. A fire rescue device of the character described comprising a ladderincluding side pieces and rungs, one of said rungs adjacent one end ofsaid ladder being braced, a sheave on said braced rung, a line passingover said sheave, a frame enclosing said ladder and including rollersadapted to travel on said side pieces, one end of said line beingconnected to said frame, a collapsible carriage carried by andoutstanding from said frame, means for controlling the extent to whichsaid carriage may be opened, a take-up drum included in said ladderproximate the end remote from said sheave, said line having its otherend secured to said drum, spring means tending to rotate said drum inone direction, and braking instrumentalities associated with said drumfor controlling rotation thereof.

4. A fire rescue device of the character described comprising a ladderincluding side pieces and rungs, one of said rungs adjacent one end ofsaid ladder being braced, a sheave on said braced rung, a line passingover said sheave, a frame enclosing said ladder and including rollersadapted to travel on said side pieces, one end of said line beingconnected to said frame, a collapsible carriage carried by andoutstanding from said frame, means for controlling the extent to whichsaid carriage may be opened, a take-up drum included in-said ladderproximate the end remote from said sheave, said line having its otherend secured to said drum, a coiled spring within said drum having oneend secured to said ladder, said spring tending to rotate said drum inone direction, a gear carried by said drum, a stub shaft journalled inone of said side pieces, a pinion on said shaft and meshing with saidgear, means on said stub shaft for establishing a detachable connectionwith a crank handle, and braking instrumentalities associated with saiddrum.

VIVIAN PINNOCK BAILEY.

